"Uhm... yeah... no, none of us were ever young and stupid... no...."

But they weren't young. If this had been a group of teenagers, it would have been far more understandable. The youngest of these hikers was 49. Callous though it might seem, I think that if you've worked your way through half a century without having or developing some kind of sense, you're probably not going to die of old age, unless you've always got someone else doing your thinking for you.

It was an unfortunate incident, but not uncommon.

From Jim: "Talk about "survivor's guilt." H*ll of a way to learn the lesson..."

Many people have to learn the hard way. That's why there are so many non-profits set up to teach people not to leave a baby alone in a bathtub, not to drive drunk, not to let toddlers wander the neighborhood on their own, etc. Many of these people simply couldn't figure it out BEFORE it happened to them.

Think of it as a Stupidity Tax. Sometimes it takes everything you've got, like your life.

Sue